Marcus Aurelius
441 quotes
Biography
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors and the last emperor of the Pax Romana, an age of relative peace, calm, and stability for the Roman Empire lasting from 27 BC to 180 AD.
"Our life is what our thoughts make it."
"When thou art above measure angry, bethink thee how momentary is man's life."
"Adapt yourself to the things among which your lot has been cast and love sincerely the fellow creatures with whom destiny has ordained that you shall live."
"The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing."
"Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them."
"You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength."
"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts."
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth."
"Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking."
"Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together,but do so with all your heart."
"When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ..."
"The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts."
"If someone is able to show me that what I think or do is not right, I will happily change, for I seek the truth, by which no one was ever truly harmed. It is the person who continues in his self-deception and ignorance who is harmed."
"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."
"The best revenge is not to be like your enemy."
"When another blames you or hates you, or people voice similar criticisms, go to their souls, penetrate inside and see what sort of people they are. You will realize that there is no need to be racked with anxiety that they should hold any particular opinion about you."
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."
"Here is a rule to remember in future, when anything tempts you to feel bitter: not "This is misfortune,"but "To bear this worthily is good fortune."
"How much time he gains who does not look to see what his neighbour says or does or thinks, but only at what he does himself, to make it just and holy."
"You are a little soul carrying about a corpse, as Epictetus used to say."
"Do every act of your life as though it were the very last act of your life."
"Look back over the past, with its changing empires that rose and fell, and you can foresee the future too."
"Perfection of character is this: to live each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, without apathy, without pretence."
"Don't go on discussing what a good person should be. Just be one."
"Accept whatever comes to you woven in the pattern of your destiny, for what could more aptly fit your needs?"